Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma

(Paperback)

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Famous author with a huge fan base: Grassle has a large fan base from her role on Little House on the Prairie Grassle has long advocated on behalf of womens rights, ERA, and battered wives; she received an award from Women in TV and Film for her film, BatteredGrassles compelling story combines the actor memoir with the recovery genre.

Reviews

So uplifting! So full of hope! The perfect read on lifes reflections.
Kristin Chenoweth, Tony and Emmy Awardwinning actress

In Bright Lights, Prairie Dust, Karen Grassle emerges as a skilled memoirist, writing with candor, grace, and style. Keenly introspective, she chronicles her evolution as an actor during some of Americas most turbulent times. This book is a powerful read by a vibrant woman of conviction.
William Anderson, author of Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography

I loved reading about Karens fascinating life in Bright Lights, Prairie Dust. I admire her courage and perspective. She is so much more than Ma Ingalls. I read this book in two daysvery hard to put down! Dont miss it.
Rosie O'Donnell, comedian, producer, actress, and author

Karen Grassles new memoir is breathtaking. Here is an authentic and unvarnished account of the life of an actorthe good, the bad, and the ugly. Karen encapsulates both the joys found and the sacrifices made in the name of our beloved craft. I will happily recommend the book to all the women I care about.
Betty Buckley, actress and singer

Ive always loved Karen Grassle. My respect and admiration for her are even better informed now, thanks to her excellent new book. Karen shares a joyous, searching, and sometimes devastating personal and artistic life driven by her commitment to artistic excellence. As we all witnessed for ourselves on TV, Karens craft transformed her turmoil into touchstones of serenity and strength that audiences have always adored.
Dean Butler, actor and producer

Bravo to my fellow TV mom! What a fascinating journey. The book is so well written . . . I couldnt put it down.
Marion Ross, actor

Karen weaves a fascinating story of her life and of her experiences, first as a developing artist in the theatre and later as a star in in Hollywood. This book strikes me as a work of courage and hard- earned wisdom as she artfully bares her soul with eyes wide open.
Dirk Blocker, actor

In this unique portrait of an artist, Karen Grassle details the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of her life in theatre, television, and film. From a scrappy beginning in the theatre in 60s New York to the not-so-pretty behind-the-scenes of a favorite American show, Karen shares her experience, strength, and hope with us in her battle with alcoholism and showbiz with courageous honesty.
Jean Louisa Kelly, actress (Uncle Buck, Mr. Hollands Opus, Top Gun 2)

A touching, honest, and powerful memoir. By the end, we feel great affection and respect for Karen Grassle, the persona role she struggled with through much of her life but eventually fulfilled in fine style. She found acting and feminism at Berkeley in the60s, and they never let her down.
Peter Glazer, playwright, director, associate professor, TDPS, UC Berkeley

I started to read this book as a favor to my friend Karen, and soon realized that the favor came from her to me! This is a story about a woman who has shared her heart, soul, and humor. It is a beautiful story from childhood to stardom. I couldnt put it down.
Michael Learned, Emmy Awardwinning actress (The Waltons)

Behind the Ma we adored on our screens lies a gritty story of perseverance and heartacheboth on and off the prairie. Karens book will surprise the Little Housefan in all of us.
Wendi Lou Lee, author and actress on Little House on the Prairie

If you think you know Karen Grassle, you dont. If you think shes simply Ma, she isnt. I was fascinated and intrigued and astonished reading this book. I couldnt put it down. Do yourself a favor and go on her life journey with her. It will make yours better!
Dee Wallace, actress
Karen Grassles brilliant, painful, and passionate memoir is both heartbreaking and downright fun. Fans of her beloved, iconic Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the Prairiewill be thrilled with the personal and private backstage details, though Id recommend the book to anyone looking for an entertaining and immersive read.
Beth Grant, actress (Rain Man, No Country for Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine, Speed)

Karen has lived a fascinating life which she recounts with heart- breaking honesty. Im so proud of my TV Ma for her take on our Little Houseadventure and so much more!
Melissa Anderson, Emmy Awardwinning actress and author

Part coming-of-age story, part Hollywood tell-all, part chronicle of American history, part guidebook to being a great actor, all told with warmth and humor and brutal honesty, Karen Grassles Bright Lights, Prairie Dustis a thrilling memoir of a life both extraordinary in its adventures and achievements and ordinary in its commonality with the experiences of women everywhere.
Rinne B. Groff, playwright

As a Religious Science Minister, I read everything through my metaphysical filter in order to better serve my spiritual community and the world. Karens transparent sharing of her life left me movedI laughed, cried, and felt my own heart and mind shift and expand. I am grateful!
Rev. Dr. Raymont Anderson, Sr. Minister, CSL, Greater Baltimore

Brace yourselves! She is nothing like Ma! Hear it all from the woman behind the petticoats.

Alison Arngrim, actor and New York Timesbest-selling author Confessions of a Prairie Bitch

Karen Grassles arresting memoir is a gift to the millions of fans ofLittle House. She shares an ongoing spiritual journey as she dedicates herself to a life in the theatre while untangling the knots along the way. Its a highly honest, detailed, and fast-paced voyage thats sure to make a proper prairie woman blush! Be swept away reading about the radical 60s of Berkeley, Broadway, and Hollywood, and of becoming the iconic Ma Ingalls while always being committed to womens rights. This is a brave book; I was truly enthralled.

Lucy Lee Flippen, actress

Karen Grassles transformation from edgy Good Girl into formida- ble Big Girl, in her own voice: a chance to make a difference revved my motor. Its all herenavigating ruthless Little Housecontract negotiations, debating the ERA with Phyllis Shlafly, helping build a battered womens shelters network . . . while relentlessly pursuing the most demanding lover of all: her acting Muse.
Margie Adam, feminist singer-songwriter

Every beginning actor should read this book. Karens journey intimately guides the reader both through immersive actor training and the professional industry and what it takes to be an actor. Fearlessly and rigorously authentic, Karens memoir makes you feel your own heartbeat, see your own shadow, and begin to rediscover what it is that makes life, with all its ache and glory, worth living.
Lauren English, casting director and performance coach

Karen is beloved by Little Housefans for her portrayal of Ma, strong matriarch of a family beginning a difficult journey to a new life. Reading about her life before she was my TV Ma shows how that strength and resiliency developed. It gives us a look into a rich life and the struggles that shape us, beyond what America saw each week watching TVs favorite family.
Matthew Labyorteaux, actor

An absorbing and compelling memoir that traces a true heros journey from growing up in an alcoholic home through the terrain of mental illness and addiction to hard-won recovery. Karen gives us a master class in acting, an intimate glimpse behind the scenes of a successful television series, and a clarion call from the frontlines of the fight for womens rights. All told with a storytellers gift, and the authentic voice of a close and reliable friend.
Diana Gould, producer, screenwriter, and author of award-winning Coldwater

Karen Grassles memoir, written with passion and candor, is a delightful, intimate portrait of an actors life. I think it is a valuable book for students preparing for a career in theater, film, or television. Karen has practical advice about auditions, rehearsals, and working on a television set. An inspiration!
Christine Adaire, Head of Voice, American Conservatory Theatre, and Linklater Voice Teacher

Author Bio

Karen Grassle, known around the world for her iconic role as Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up in Ventura, California. Raised by hardworking parents whose relationship was undercut by the alcoholism of her father, Karen graduated from UC Berkeley and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright. She went on to a career in New York as well as in theatres all over the US. She cowrote and starred in the TV film Battered and is known for her advocacy on behalf of equality for women. In the last fifteen years, she has appeared in plays nationwide, as well as in three indie films. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and takes pleasure in her relationship with her son, Zach Radford, and spending free time in the garden. She lives in El Cerrito, CA.